Fnatic

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Fnatic was founded in July 2004 by Sam and Anne Mathews, with them both based in London at the time, and where Fnatic still holds its headquarters. Due to their acclaim and impact within the community, the team also has a base in Sweden. Thanks to the dynamic leadership of Sam Mathews and his partner Anne, this is one of the most well respected and valued esports teams within the industry. As you’d expect with a team of this calibre, Fnatic compete in events on a global scale, partaking in events surrounding the likes of Counter Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Dota 2, as well as a few others. Given the scale of their successes, it’s no surprise that Fnatic take part in many events around the world on an annual bases, visiting over 25 different countries each time.

The Fnatic Team

Taking into account what we already know, it makes sense that the Fnatic team often changes its roster, be that due to retirement or changing teams. One of the most recent changes is that of Olofmeister, who has left after several years as part of this renowned unit. Although this has altered the lineup somewhat, the current team is still a fine example of expertise. The current roster includes KRiMZ, JW, flusha, Golden, Lekr0, and Jumpy. If we take a closer look at these players, we learn that Golden is the captain, and Jumpy acts as the team’s coach.

Why Fnatic is One of the Best

One of the most obvious reasons for them being so prominent within this community, is that they amassed many awards in a short period of time, with their first being the esports Team of the year in 2006. As if they one time wasn’t enough, they then won this award again in 2009, providing further evidence of their determination to reign supreme within the industry.

Between the periods of 2006 and 2009, Fnatic also started attracting their first high profile sponsors, MSI and SteelSeries. Due to these new sponsorships, the team were able to enter the Korean gaming industry with more ease, resulting in them becoming the first foreign group to operate within their own house in Seoul, North Korea. This was a major coup, and one that no other team had managed previously, further heightening the reach of Fnatic. Since then, Fnatic has attracted a whole raft of support from a number of major organisations, with their current sponsors including that of Fnatic Gear, Monster, MSI, and Seagate.

Achievements

Fnatic has a string of impressive achievements worth boasting about, with some of them dating back several years, such as in 2009. During this time, they won the Intel Extreme Masters III, with them then going on to claim first place four years down the line, this time at the DreamHack Winter 2013 competition.

This ability to place first continued, with them gaining top position a total of five times throughout 2015, including the ESL One Katowice 2015, the ESL ESEA Pro League Season One Finals, the ESL One Cologne 2015, and the ESL ESEA Pro League Season Two Finals. Then, in 2016, they rocketed to victory once more, playing in the StarLadder iLeague StarSeries XIV Finals, as well as the Intel Extreme Masters X World Championship. It would seem that luck, and winning, is set to continue for Fnatic, though 2017 hasn’t proven quiet as strong.